The Scotland international, who joined us from Aston Villa this summer, is building on an excellent goalscoring campaign in the WSL last term, scoring 12 goals in total for the Villans, and has taken no time to bring that clinical edge in a Spurs shirt.
Slotting home her first goal in the first half, capitalising on some lovely build-up play from Signe Gaupset and Cathinka Tandberg, our number 16 then curled home a sumptuous second from the edge of the box 16 minutes from time, subsequently winning the league’s and Club’s Player of the Match award for the fixture.
When making a first competitive appearance in a new team, many players couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to their new fanbase, however, Kirsty remains humble – feeling she still has so much more to show.
“I'm harsh on myself, I didn't have the best game,” she told us, speaking after the game at Brisbane Road. “I was just happy to see the two goals go in but it was all thanks to the teammates around me.
“They put in really good balls for me. Signe [Gaupset], so happy to play with her, she's such a good player and she deserved that goal as well, but hopefully we can build on that as a team and obviously thanks to the fans for coming.
“I'm very much a team player, but I saw the gap open [for her second goal] and I just thought I'd hit it, but very happy and pleased it went in. I’m just happy with the three points and very proud of the team.”
This article continues in full below and has been taken from an exclusive interview with Kirsty in the first edition of our Matchday Programme.
Kirsty has certainly had time to bed in to her new surroundings after joining us from Villa in mid-June, having the opportunity to undertake a full pre-season to get to know her team-mates and coaching staff.
Arriving as early as June to be part of our very first day of pre-season training and included in the squad that travelled to Spain for a 12-day performance camp last month, the 28-year-old has had plenty of opportunities to embed into her new environment and she feels that is already showing.
“It’s actually gone better than I thought,” she added. “I was very nervous on the first two days, but then I just got welcomed and I felt like I was part of a big family already - that was thanks to all the players and even all the new ones who were integrated as well.
“I came in, I knew what the standards were and it was a very high tempo from the first day. We've been challenged, been pushed to our limits by Martin [Ho] and the staff but I think we're all really connected - on and off the pitch - now. So, I think we've got a lot of good relationships and we’re excited to all put that together today.”
We all know what the forward will bring to the team on the pitch – her goalscoring touch, explosive pace and dynamic movement to cause chaos among the opposition team.
However, what has caught our eye in her first few months has been off the pitch, taking a young group of players under her wing and being a role model for them when they step up to the first-team environment.
Regularly playing card games with Heidi Hills, Jhanaie Pierre and Sophie Jackson in their downtime in Spain, providing company during breakfast and lunch or just being a support network for the youngsters – these are all elements Kirsty wanted to bring that she didn’t experience when breaking through at a young age.
“I'm definitely a role model now,” she smiled. “I'm probably one of the most experienced players in the team now, which I'm not used to, so I've just come in and made sure I've looked after the young ones in every club I've been to.
“When I was younger, I didn't have an older player really look after me when I was younger, so I just want to make sure the young ones in our team never have that feeling because it's not nice and you don't get the best out of yourself.
“They're a good laugh as well, they're entertaining to be able to train with because they obviously want someone to look up to, so I try to help them out with that. For example, Jhanaie, she's obviously an up-and-coming great player, she's a similar position to me, so I always help her out as well.
“You can see the young, talented ones in the group and tell they have so much potential, so I just want to make sure I can help them get the best out of themselves.”
Having racked up 125 appearances in England’s top flight across her spells with Manchester United and Villa, Kirsty has seen the growth of the competition and this season is set to be one of the most exciting yet.
One of the most notable changes is the expansion from 12 to 14 WSL teams, with three WSL 2 sides stepping up, and our number 16 feels this campaign could be even more competitive, especially with the array of overseas talent that has made the switch to England this summer.
“There's so much more talent now, world-class talent that are coming in and they want to play in the WSL, so it's going to be exciting to be able to play against that,” she added. “It's going to be one of the toughest seasons yet, but a very exciting one.
“We’ve got a lot of talented players on our team and that will just obviously attract more fans, plus a lot of the teams are now playing in their main stadiums, so that's something we never got to do when we were younger.”